Manus Island: Asylum seeker finds human teeth in meal

Someone has got his or her teeth into a meal, quite literally. Two human teeth, stained red with betel nut juice, were found in the food served to asylum seekers in Papua New Guinea's Manus Island.

Authorities are said to be investigating the incident that took place in a detention centre, Oscar compound, run by Australia. The asylum seeker, who received the teeth-laden meal, filed a formal complaint with authorities.

"This is the food they give us, always like this, always disgusting. They treat us like animals, worse than animals," another asylum seeker, who is also at the detention centre, told Guardian Australia.

The claim has not been formally verified but the complainant has photographed the two human teeth along with the meal. Reports suggest several others refused to eat their lunch after the purported incident.

Australia's Department of Immigration and Border Protection said in a statement: "The department's contract with the service provider requires compliance with all relevant and applicable health and food safety regulations."

"Additionally the contract also contains requirements which need to be met in relation to the quality, quantity, cultural appropriateness and variety of food to be provided to transferees."

This is not the first time the detention centre has come under scrutiny for poor sanitary conditions. There was a mass outbreak of food poisoning at the centre a week earlier.